CDFI Fund Releases the FY 2003 to FY 2023 New Markets Tax Credit Summary Report

The CDFI Fund requires Community Development Entities (CDEs) that have received NMTC allocation authority to report annually on how they deploy Qualified Equity Investment (QEI) proceeds. NMTC investments must satisfy applicable statutory requirements for investors to claim the tax credit.

On August 7, 2026, the CDFI Fund released a new public data set and summary report covering NMTC investments through FY 2023. Through 20 application rounds, the CDFI Fund has awarded $81 billion in NMTC allocation authority to CDEs. Separately, CDEs reported approximately $71.0 billion in Qualified Low-Income Community Investments (QLICIs) from FY 2003 through FY 2023. The CDFI Fund has awarded allocation authority to organizations headquartered in 46 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Because the NMTC allocation process is highly competitive, CDEs can use this data to evaluate where capital is being deployed and how their investment strategies compare with program-wide deployment patterns.

In FY 2023, 76.6% of NMTC investment dollars were deployed in census tracts meeting at least one of the primary severe-distress criteria, compared with 75.0% of investment dollars over the FY 2003-FY 2023 period.

• 5% of FY 2023 investment dollars were deployed in census tracts with poverty rates greater than 30%
• 6% of FY 2023 investment dollars were deployed in census tracts with median family income at or below 60% of applicable area median income
• 2% of FY 2023 investment dollars were deployed in census tracts with unemployment rates at least 1.5 times the national average

These figures show that a substantial majority of NMTC capital continues to be deployed in communities experiencing levels of economic distress beyond the program’s basic Low-Income Community (LIC) eligibility thresholds. In a highly competitive allocation market, basic LIC eligibility alone generally is not enough to make a project competitive for allocation from CDEs. CDEs, investors, and project sponsors should therefore view basic LIC eligibility as an entrance requirement rather than a complete project narrative.

In FY 2023, 26.6% of QLICI dollars were deployed in nonmetropolitan census tracts, compared with 19.9% across FY 2003-FY 2023 and above the program’s 20% benchmark for proportional nonmetropolitan investment. Separately, Treasury’s December 2025 NMTC award announcement emphasized rural and nonmetropolitan communities and stated that the awards reflected a 20% increase in investments in those areas. The FY 2023 data reinforces the importance of rural deployment, although the report alone does not establish a sustained upward trend or a structural allocation advantage.

In FY 2023, manufacturing accounted for 7.23 million of the 10.52 million square feet of commercial real estate constructed or rehabilitated with NMTC financing – approximately 68.7%. Manufacturing is a significant NMTC deployment category, and Treasury’s December 2025 award announcement specifically identified building domestic manufacturing capacity and supporting job creation as priorities. CDEs can use the FY 2023 data together with current Treasury priorities to inform allocation applications and sponsor materials where a project’s facts genuinely align with those priorities.

The FY 2023 release provides program-wide evidence of substantial NMTC deployment in severely distressed and nonmetropolitan communities and shows that manufacturing accounted for most of the commercial square footage constructed or rehabilitated during the year. Analyzing the underlying data can help CDEs evaluate deployment patterns, identify potential areas of unmet need, and align future investment strategies with the NMTC Program’s community development objectives and current federal priorities.

Sources: CDFI Fund, NMTC Public Data Release: FY 2003 to FY 2023 Summary Report (Aug. 6, 2026); CDFI Fund, CDFI Fund Releases Summary Report and Public Data for NMTC Program for FYs 2003-2023 (Aug. 7, 2026); U.S. Department of the Treasury, Treasury Pairs New Markets Tax Credit Awards with Program Reforms (Dec. 23, 2025).